Method for Maintaining Spinning Units of a Spinning Machine along with a Spinning Machine

ABSTRACT

A method and associated spinning machine for maintaining spinning units of the spinning machine includes a plurality of the spinning units arranged next to one another and at least one maintenance device that is movable along the spinning units to perform maintenance procedures on the spinning units. Prior to maintenance of a spinning unit by the maintenance device, a housing of the spinning unit is opened. Subsequently, the maintenance is performed and then the housing is closed. One or both of the opening and the closing of the housing is carried out autonomously with a sealing device operably configured at the spinning unit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for maintaining spinning unitsof a spinning machine having a multiple number of spinning unitsarranged next to one another and with at least one maintenance devicethat is movable along the spinning units and by means of which thespinning units are maintained. In each case, prior to the maintenance ofa spinning unit, a housing of the spinning unit is opened, the spinningunit is maintained by the maintenance device and, after the maintenanceof the spinning unit, the housing is closed again. Furthermore, theinvention relates to a corresponding spinning machine for carrying outthe method.

BACKGROUND

A method and a device for operating an open-end rotor spinning machineis known from DE 10 2007 048 720 A1. The spinning machine features amultiple number of similar work stations, each of which is equipped witha spinning device for producing a thread and a winding device forcreating a cross-wound bobbin, and is designed in a such a manner that athread end retracted after a spinning interruption from the cross-woundbobbin, prepared for the piecing process and made ready in a piecingposition can once again be pieced on autonomously by the spinningdevice. Herein, time-critical steps of the piecing process, such as thedefined return of the prepared thread end into the spinning rotor, theexact start of the fiber feed and the precise beginning of the drawingoff of the thread out of the open-end spinning device, are realized bydevices operatively associated to the work stations. Necessarymaintenance work prior to the actual start of the piecing process, suchas rotor cleaning, are carried out by a service unit operating the workstations autonomously. Herein, the service unit is arranged in a mannermovable along the open-end rotor spinning machine.

With such a method, one disadvantage is that, before the auxiliary workcan be performed by the movable service unit, the spinning device mustfirst be opened manually or by the service unit. However, this istime-consuming, which leads to performance losses of the spinningmachine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, a task of the present invention is to shorten the time requiredfor the maintenance of the spinning unit, in order to increase theperformance of the spinning machine. Additional objects and advantagesof the invention will be set forth in part in the following description,or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned throughpractice of the invention.

The tasks are solved by a method for operating a spinning machine asdescribed and claimed herein.

A method for maintaining spinning units of a spinning machine isproposed. The spinning machine features a multiple number of spinningunits arranged next to one another and at least one maintenance device.With the assistance of the spinning units, a yarn is spun from a fibermaterial. The maintenance device can also be moved along the spinningunits, in order to maintain the spinning units. The maintenance of thespinning units comprises, in particular, the cleaning of a spinningrotor. In each case, prior to the maintenance of a spinning unit, ahousing of the spinning unit is opened, the spinning unit is maintainedby the maintenance device and, after the maintenance of the spinningunit, the housing is closed again. Furthermore, a spinning machine forcarrying out the method, which features a multiple number of spinningunits arranged next to one another and at least one maintenance devicethat can be moved along the spinning units and by means of which thespinning units can be maintained, is proposed. Each spinning unitfeatures a housing that is closed during the spinning process and can beopened to maintain the spinning unit.

In accordance with the invention, the housing of the spinning unit to bemaintained is autonomously opened with the assistance of a sealingdevice arranged at the spinning unit. In addition or alternatively, thehousing of the spinning unit is autonomously closed by the sealingdevice after maintenance. As a result, the spinning unit no longer hasto be opened and/or closed by the maintenance personnel or themaintenance device itself. This shortens the time required formaintenance by the maintenance device, such that the maintenance devicecan in turn maintain more spinning units. Moreover, the maintenancedevice no longer has to wait for the maintenance personnel to open thespinning unit to be maintained. This increases the productivity of thespinning machine.

At the spinning unit, a sealing device is arranged accordingly forautonomously opening the housing before maintenance by the maintenancedevice and/or for autonomously closing the housing after maintenance bythe maintenance device. The sealing device is accordingly formed to openand/or close the housing.

It is advantageous if maintenance comprises the cleaning of a spinningdevice, in particular a spinning rotor and/or a thread draw-off nozzle.The cleaning of the spinning device is carried out by means of acleaning device arranged in the movable maintenance device, whereas,however, in an advantageous manner, the spinning device or the housingof the spinning unit has been previously opened by the spinning unititself. However, maintenance may include other steps, each of whichrequires the opening of a housing. The spinning machine can be executedas a rotor spinning machine, but the invention can also be used on anair-spinning machine.

Moreover, it is advantageous if the housing of the spinning unit to bemaintained is opened before the maintenance device has arrived at thespinning unit or is positioned in front of it. As a result, themaintenance device can start with maintenance immediately after it hasbeen positioned in front of the relevant spinning unit, such that thetime that the maintenance device spends at the spinning unit is evenfurther shortened. The maintenance device can thereby maintain morespinning units in the same amount of time.

Furthermore, it is advantageous if the spinning machine and/or thespinning unit features a control unit that detects the approach of themaintenance device at the spinning unit to be maintained, and controlsthe sealing device in such a manner that the housing is opened when themaintenance device reaches the spinning unit. With the method formaintaining spinning units, the approach of the maintenance device tothe spinning unit to be maintained is preferably recognized with theassistance of the control unit of the spinning machine, and the openingof the housing of the spinning unit to be maintained is thus initiated,such that the housing is opened if the maintenance device has reachedthe spinning unit.

The approach of the maintenance device can be defined, for example, as aspecific distance of the maintenance device from the spinning unit,which is detected by means of certain measuring means. For example, thecontrol unit may constantly measure the location of the maintenancedevice on the spinning machine and the speed at which the maintenancedevice travels in the direction to the spinning unit to be maintained.From this, the control unit can calculate the anticipated travel time ofthe maintenance device until it reaches the spinning unit to bemaintained, and bring about the opening of the housing of the spinningunit in advance up to the reaching of the spinning unit by themaintenance device. In this case, with the housing open, the spinningunit can wait for the maintenance device. For this purpose, the controlunit must be configured in an appropriate manner.

In addition, a time value that indicates how long it takes to open thespinning unit can be stored in the control unit. Thus, it is possible tocalculate a position of the approaching maintenance device, upon thereaching of which the opening of the housing is brought about. As aresult, the opening is just completed when the maintenance devicereaches the spinning unit. With production at the spinning unit to bemaintained still ongoing, production will thereby occur as long aspossible at the spinning unit, and the time in which the spinning unitis at a standstill will be shortened.

It is also advantageous if a surrounding area of the spinning unit to bemaintained is defined and, with the assistance of the control unit ofthe spinning machine, whether the maintenance device is located in thesurrounding area of the spinning unit is detected. The opening of thehousing is brought about then and only then if the maintenance device(or, in the case of multiple maintenance devices, one of the maintenancedevices) is located in the surrounding area and it is thus foreseeablethat the maintenance device will pass by soon. Thereby, the unnecessaryor premature opening of the housing can be avoided.

In addition, it is advantageous if, in order to carry out preventivemaintenance of the spinning unit, in particular a preventive rotorcleaning, the spinning unit is stopped and the opening of the housing ofthe spinning unit is brought about as soon as the maintenance device orone of several maintenance devices is detected in the surrounding areaof the spinning unit. Moreover, for this purpose, the control unit ofthe spinning machine must be configured in a suitable manner. The pointin time of the last maintenance can also be taken into account and onlyif this dates back too long will, upon the passing by of the maintenancedevice, the opening of the spinning unit and the subsequent maintenanceprocess, in particular the preventive cleaning of the spinning rotor, beinitiated.

It is also advantageous if, in the event of an interruption of theproduction of the spinning unit (for example a thread break), there isan examination of whether the maintenance device is located in thesurrounding area. The examination may also take place by means of thecontrol unit of the spinning machine. When the maintenance device islocated in the surrounding area of such spinning unit, it is summonedfor maintenance at the relevant spinning unit and carries out themaintenance, and only then is production resumed; in particular, athread is pieced on again. This design is thus particularly advantageouswith a spinning machine that has a piecing device configured with thework station. If, after an interruption of production, a maintenancedevice is in the vicinity (that is, it is available with a short travelpath), maintenance, in particular the cleaning of the spinning rotor inthe case of a rotor spinning machine, can be carried out with littletime expenditure prior to the resumption of production. If, on the otherhand, there is no maintenance device in the vicinity, production isresumed immediately and without maintenance, in order to keep thedowntime of the spinning unit as short as possible.

It is advantageous if, after the maintenance of the spinning unit, thehousing of the spinning unit is automatically closed by the sealingdevice of the spinning unit. The closing may take place independently ofthe position of the maintenance device; thus, for example, already at apoint in time at which the maintenance device is still positioned infront of the spinning unit.

However, it is particularly advantageous if, after the maintenance ofthe spinning unit, the maintenance device assumes its continued travel,and the housing of the spinning unit is then automatically closed by thesealing device of the spinning unit and the production is resumed at thespinning unit. Thus, the maintenance device can already approach thenext spinning unit and wait, which further increases the productivity ofthe spinning machine.

However, in an alternative design, it is also possible that themaintenance device still takes over the rapid process of closing thespinning unit before it assumes its continued travel.

In an advantageous additional form of the invention, the piecing on of athread is carried out after the automatic closing of the housing by apiecing device configured with the spinning unit. As a result, thespinning machine can be maintained more rapidly overall, such that theperformance of the spinning machine increases.

It is also advantageous if the sealing device comprises an actuator, inparticular a magnetic switch, a pneumatic and/or a hydraulic pistonand/or an electric motor, which opens and/or closes the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages of the invention are described in the followingembodiments. The following is shown:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a spinning machine with a multiple numberof spinning units and a movable maintenance device; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a spinning unit with a sealingdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, one or moreexamples of which are shown in the drawings. Each embodiment is providedby way of explanation of the invention, and not as a limitation of theinvention. For example features illustrated or described as part of oneembodiment can be combined with another embodiment to yield stillanother embodiment. It is intended that the present invention includethese and other modifications and variations to the embodimentsdescribed herein.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a spinning machine 1 with a multiplenumber of spinning units 2 (whereas, for the sake of simplicity, onlyone spinning unit 2 is provided with a reference sign) and a movablemaintenance device 3. The maintenance device 3 is arranged in a movablemanner on a rail 4 in a traverse direction 6. Preferably, as illustratedin the present case, the rail 4 extends around the spinning units 2,such that the maintenance device 3 can reach the other side of thespinning machine 1 from one side of the spinning machine 1.

With customary spinning machines 1, it is the case that a cover 5(illustrated here by way of example at the spinning unit 2) of a housing8 of the spinning units 2 is opened for maintenance by the maintenancepersonnel or by the maintenance device 3. The cover 5 of the housing 8of the spinning unit 2 is pivotable in a pivoting direction 7, such thatthe housing 8 of the spinning unit 2 can be opened and/or closed. Theopening of the cover 5 by the maintenance personnel is verytime-consuming. Likewise, the opening of the cover 5 by the maintenancedevice 3 is still quite time-consuming, such that the productivity ofthe spinning machine 1 is reduced. In the case of a rotor spinningmachine, the cover 5 is arranged on a housing 8 of the spinning rotor 10(see FIG. 2), which is opened.

With the method in accordance with the invention, to maintain thespinning machine 1, the housing 8 of the spinning unit 2 is autonomouslyopened for maintenance. In addition or alternatively, the housing 8 ofthe spinning unit 2 is also closed autonomously after maintenance. Theopening and/or closing is carried out by a sealing device 9, which isillustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of a spinning unit 2 with a sealingdevice 9 for opening and/or closing the housing 8 of the spinning unit2. The present spinning unit 2 is designed as a spinning unit 2 of arotor spinning machine, and features a spinning rotor 10 as a spinningelement, which is rotatably mounted in the housing 8. The thread Fproduced by the spinning rotor 10 is withdrawn through a thread draw-offnozzle 11 and is fed to a winding device, which is not illustrated here.Likewise, the cover 5 for closing the housing 8 is visible. The openingand closing of the housing 8 takes place by means of the sealing device9, which in the present case comprises a threaded spindle with a drivemotor, and pivots the cover away from the housing 8 or pulls it up tothe housing 8. After the housing 8 has been opened by means of thesealing device 9, the maintenance device 3 can maintain the spinningunit, in particular clean the spinning rotor 10 of the spinning unit 2.

If the maintenance device 3 no longer has to open the spinning unit 2itself, during this time, the maintenance device 3 can completemaintenance work at another spinning unit 2 or use the time for thetravel path to the next spinning unit 2 to be maintained. As a result, atotal of more spinning units 2 can be maintained, such that theproductivity of the spinning machine 1 increases.

Advantageously, the cover 5 of the spinning unit 2 can already be openedif it is foreseeable that the maintenance device 3 will pass by thespinning unit 2. For example, the spinning machine 1 comprises a controlunit, which is not illustrated here, in which it is stored that thespinning unit 2 has not been maintained for a long period of time. Inaddition, the control unit recognizes that the maintenance device 3 ismoving in the direction of the spinning unit 2. Preventive maintenanceof the spinning unit 2 can be brought about, whereas the spinning unit 2is stopped, the housing 8 of the spinning unit 2 is opened and thespinning unit 2 is waiting for the maintenance device 3 with a housing 8that is already opened. Thereupon, the maintenance device 3 can maintainthe spinning unit 2 and then immediately proceed to the next spinningunit 2 to be maintained.

Preferably, the maintenance operation of the maintenance device 3includes the cleaning of the spinning rotor. For this, the spinning unit2 is initially stopped and holds the thread firmly, in order to be ableto piece it on after the cleaning of the rotor. After the rotor has beencleaned, the spinning unit 2 once again closes autonomously, and onceagain autonomously pieces on the thread F. As such, it is particularlyadvantageous if the spinning unit 2 has its own piecing device. Inprinciple, however, it is likewise possible that the maintenance device3 also carries out other activities, such as, for example, exchangingthe spinning rotor or piecing on a thread.

The opening of the cover 5 can be brought about in such a manner that,upon arrival of the maintenance device 3 at the spinning unit 2, theopening of the cover 5 of the housing 8 is just completed. Thus, thespinning unit 2 can produce as long as possible. In addition, themaintenance device 3 can then start maintenance immediately.

If, on the other hand, a thread break occurs at the spinning unit 2, thecontrol unit can summon the maintenance device 3 to the spinning unit 2,even before the spinning unit 2 autonomously starts piecing on thethread again. Thereby, advantageously, a surrounding area of thespinning unit 2, for example an area at a distance of up to fivespinning units 2, is defined in advance. Of course, the surrounding areacan also be defined in the form of a maximum permissible period of timefor the travel path of the maintenance device 3 to the spinning unit 2.In the event of a thread breakage, there will initially be a check, bymeans of the control unit of the spinning machine 1, as to whether amaintenance device 3 is located in the surrounding area of the spinningunit 2. If this is the case, the spinning unit 2 already opensautonomously, such that the maintenance device 3 can take up themaintenance work, in particular the rotor cleaning, immediately afterreaching the spinning unit 2. If, on the other hand, no maintenancedevice 3 is present in the surrounding area of the spinning unit 2, thespinning unit pieces on the thread F again by means of its own piecingdevice, without previously carrying out the cleaning of the rotor, sincethe spinning unit otherwise would be unproductively at a standstill fortoo long.

This invention is not limited to the illustrated and describedembodiments. In particular, even if the invention has been describedwith reference to a rotor spinning machine, the spinning machine couldalso be designed as an air-jet spinning machine. Variations within thescope of the claims, just as the combination of characteristics, arepossible, even if they are illustrated and described in differentembodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 Spinning machine-   2 Spinning unit-   3 Maintenance device-   4 Rail-   5 Cover-   6 Traverse direction-   7 Pivoting direction-   8 Housing-   9 Sealing device-   10 Spinning rotor-   11 Thread draw-off nozzle-   F Thread

1-15: (canceled)
 16. A method for maintaining spinning units of aspinning machine, wherein the spinning machine includes a plurality ofthe spinning units arranged next to one another and at least onemaintenance device that is movable along the spinning units to performmaintenance procedures on the spinning units, the method comprising:prior to maintenance of a spinning unit by the maintenance device,opening a housing of the spinning unit; subsequently performing themaintenance of the spinning unit with the maintenance device, and thenclosing the housing of the spinning unit; wherein one or both of theopening and the closing of the housing is carried out autonomously witha sealing device operably configured at the spinning unit.
 17. Themethod according to claim 16, wherein the maintenance comprises one orboth of cleaning of a spinning device or a thread draw-off nozzle at thespinning unit.
 18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the housingof the spinning unit is opened before the maintenance device ispositioned at the spinning unit to perform the maintenance.
 19. Themethod according to claim 16, further comprising detecting approach ofthe maintenance device to the spinning unit, and timing the opening ofthe housing of the spinning unit with the approach such that the housingis open when the maintenance device arrives at the spinning unit. 20.The method according to claim 16, further comprising defining asurrounding area of the spinning unit, and detecting when themaintenance device enters the surrounding area.
 21. The method accordingto claim 20, wherein in order to carry out preventive maintenance of thespinning unit, the spinning unit is stopped and the opening of thehousing of the spinning unit is performed when the maintenance device isdetected in the surrounding area of the spinning unit.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 20, wherein in the event of an interruption ofproduction of the spinning unit, determination is made of whether themaintenance device is located in the surrounding area and, if themaintenance device is located in the surrounding area, the maintenancedevice is summoned to the spinning unit to perform the maintenance, andonly then is production resumed.
 23. The method according to claim 16,wherein after the housing is closed, the maintenance device continuesalong a travel path alongside the spinning units.
 24. The methodaccording to claim 23, wherein after the maintenance of the spinningunit, the maintenance device closes the housing.
 25. The methodaccording to claim 24, wherein the maintenance of the spinning unit is apiecing of the thread carried out by a piecing device configured at thespinning unit.
 26. The method according to claim 16, wherein the sealingdevice comprises an actuator configured with a cover on the housing toopen or close the housing.
 27. A spinning machine, comprising: aplurality of spinning units arranged next to one another; a maintenancedevice movable alongside of the spinning units for performance ofmaintenance at the spinning units; each spinning unit comprising ahousing that is closed by a cover during spinning production, whereinthe cover is movable to an open position to open the housing formaintenance by the maintenance device; a sealing device configured atthe spinning unit and connected to the cover, the sealing devicecontrollable to do on or both of autonomously move the cover to the openposition before maintenance by the maintenance device or to autonomouslymove the cover to close the housing after maintenance by the maintenancedevice.
 28. The spinning machine according to claim 27, wherein thesealing device is controllable to move the cover and open the housingupon detection of approach of the maintenance device to the spinningunit so that the housing is open when the maintenance device reaches thespinning unit.
 29. The spinning machine according to claim 27, whereinthe spinning units comprise a piecing device.
 30. The pinning machineaccording to claim 27, wherein the sealing device comprises an actuator.